Above All Else
by Lizardon the Dragon
Summary: When the Holidays roll around, Charizard finds himself alone, now that his Trainer has left the Smash Mansion. Will he get to spend Christmas with him, or will a certain floating Hand ruin the holiday for everyone? For SmashKing24's Christmas Contest 2014.
1. Chapter 1

It was just an ordinary December day in the Smash mansion.

Naturally, this meant utter chaos.

The entire manor was abuzz with excitement, and why wouldn't it be? Arguably the most celebrated holiday at the house was steadily approaching, and preparations needed to be made. In between the regular matches, characters were occupying every spare second they had with something to do with Christmas. Peach, along with a handful of other characters with an itchin' for the kitchen, had been baking nonstop for the past 3, although one of those days was to make up for lost food after Kirby and Pit snuck a few hundred cookies. Greninja had taken the liberty of covering every visible surface with decorations, and, after much convincing from the other smashers, refrained from placing some mistletoe over Samus' door.

However, none of this even came close to what chaos the kids were up to. Since the clocks struck midnight on December 1st, Bowser Jr., The Koopalings, Ness and Toon Link had almost been needed to be strapped to chairs to keep the mansion in one piece. To his dismay, Bowser was placed on babysitting duty and had taken the kids out into Smashville every day for some "fun" holiday activities.

Even the library was bustling with commotion, albeit quiet commotion. Robin had been reading any book he could on Christmas and other holidays, and Captain Falcon had been working on a story furiously for a week, but would deny it's very existence when questioned.

However, this one particular day, the library had another visitor, and quit an unexpected one at that. Being a Pokémon, Charizard was no scholar; It was uncommon to find a literate pocket monster, since they were naturally evolved to battle. But this was a very special case. It was first Christmas since the start of the fourth tournament, and while he enjoyed the company of the other smashers, there were a few bodies in particular who the fire lizard wanted to be with more than anyone. After snapping an 8th pencil with his massive jaws, Charizard gave out a loud and exasperated grunt. He concluded that Charizards were not suited for writing letters, and stomped off to find someone to write it for him.

The problem with being a Pokémon is that your vocabulary is generally limited to your species name, or parts of it. The fire/flying type, however, could only roar, growl and make other such animalistic noises. This furthered the difficulty of communicating with his peers, as a surprisingly small amount of the non-Pokémon characters had actually bothered to learn how to understand his speech patterns. Charizard could count them on one claw, in fact. Peach was busy making a batch of gingerbread and could not help him, although he was given a cookie in consolation. Ike was nowhere to be found, although it wouldn't have made much of a difference as Ike was also secretly illiterate. This left the Pokémon with one last option, and thank Arceus above, Palutena was happy to write Charizard's letter for him.

"Alright then, Charizard," Palutena spoke, in her calm, almost motherly tone. "What did you want to write?" Charizard began speaking to her in a series of short and long growls and chuffs as the Goddess took a seat at the table. She gave a small giggle as she brushed the desk clear of pencil shards. "Slow down, Charizard! My, but you are excited!" Charizard's face turned a bit darker. "It's all right. Now, would you please start by telling me who we're addressing this too?" Charizard gave a nod and uttered two slow roars. Palutena smiled and began writing on the paper:

"Dear Red…"


	2. Chapter 2

**A BIG thanks to The Jam Man and Dapper Dee VI for reviewing! Enjoy this chapter guys!**

Chapter 2: The Second Chapter

With Palutena's assistance, Charizard's letter was finally finished. He felt bad for making the Goddess of Light write for him, so Charizard volunteered to lick the stamp and envelope. While the dragon did have a very flexible tongue, it didn't make the taste any less horrible.

With his tongue hanging lopsided out his mouth, Charizard walked down the stairs that lead to the basement of the mansion. Not many smashers ever needed to go to the mailroom, since the Waddle Dees usually received and delivered all the mail. However, this letter was very precious to Charizard, and he didn't want to take any chances with it. The Waddle Dees, although they meant well, weren't always the most careful or brightest of workers. There was one memorable instance in which Crazy Hand spent 30 days in jail because his Jury Duty summons was mixed up with an anonymous love letter meant for a certain bounty huntress. Neither the Hands or Samus were very happy with the Dees that day.

Nevertheless, Charizard made his way through a swarm of Waddle Dees in the mail room (he may or may not have stepped on a few) and had almost reached the "Out" bin, when a loud voice rang through the room, startling the Pokémon and causing every Waddle Dee to freeze and stand at attention.

"I say, why are there so many of you down here? I could've sworn I had most of you on laundry duty today!" The powerful voice belonged to none other than Master Hand himself, the manager, owner and boss of the Smash Tournaments. While he was physically no more than an oversized, floating white hand, every smasher knew that he had incredible powers nearly beyond comprehension. At least, that's what all the smasher _believed_, since none of them had truly seen any of these powers firsthand. His bellowing base voice rang out once again "Now, all of you who are NOT on mail duty, leave this room posthaste, lest you find yourselves out in the snow!" Immediately, a massive stampede of the small beings left through every visible exit, some even crawling up the mail tubes. "Now then, the rest of you get back to work! NOW!" Master Hand let out that last word with such force it caused even the daunting fire type to jump. Normally, Master Hand is not quite as vicious and short tempered as he was this day. However, it just so happened that this glove was a veritable Grinch when it came to Christmas. The holiday for him usually meant putting his precious tournament on hold, getting gifts for everyone, and overall just more work. Once the mail room was back in order, Master Hand turned to leave when he noticed Charizard placing his letter proudly into the "Out" bin. Suspicious as to why a Pokémon had a letter to send, or even that a Pokémon had a letter to send, or even that a Pokémon _had_ a letter, he floated over.

"Good day, Charizard." Charizard, who hadn't expected to turn around and see five massive, white fingers in his face, gave a loud, surprised roar, and quite literally jumped three times in the air. "My apologies if I startled you, friend. I simply was curious as to why you were placing a letter yourself in the 'Out' bin. Surely the Waddle Dees could've dropped it off for you?"

Charizard, still trying to regain his composure after the terrible shock, began speaking to master hand in his usual style of grunts and growls. He explained to the appendage that he was sending a letter to his Trainer, Red, inviting him and Charizard's former smash-mates, Squirtle and Ivysaur, to return to the Smash Mansion to celebrate Christmas with him. Red, along with Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle, had been competitors in the recently terminated 3rd Tournament, also known as "The Brawl." However, once Master Hand had set in place the new rule for the 4th tournament, in which fighters could not change mid-battle, Red and the other had gotten the boot. Charizard, however, was invited to stay as his own fighter, since he had been widely considered the most powerful of the 3 Pokémon. During the fire type's explanation, Master Hand began clenching and unclenching himself, in obvious displeasure. When Charizard finished, Master Hand wasted no time in replying.

"Charizard, I'm afraid that I cannot, and will not, allow your trainer to return to the Smash Mansion."

**And that's Chapter 2 done! I kinda like the idea of Master Hand being a really stern head of the Smash Mansion (and you can bet I wanted the other two Pokémon to come back for smash 4 ****) Anyway, be sure to leave a review if you're enjoying the story so far! Merry Holidays, Comrades!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shoutout to The Jam Man, Dapper Dee VI, bladewielder05, Mew29240, F-ZeroSamus, WR3000 and Child at heart Forever for your reviews! By the way, if ever you guys want a certain character to cameo in the story, just PM me or mention it in a review, and I'll make sure they get some spotlight! Enjoy!**

Chapter 3: The Long Chapter

The Duck Hunt trio were having a peaceful day. The 3 of them didn't have any matches scheduled until the evening, so they took advantage of the freshly fallen snow. Well, except for the duck. Ducks are not fans of snow. So, the mallard was content to waddle over to the kitchen to grab a mug of hot cocoa, while Zapper, the often overlooked sniper and the dog went outside to play.

The front yard of the mansion was massive: Zelda had once deduced it was approximately the length of 7 American football fields. In the winter, Crazy Hand set up and ice rink right in the middle, and it was always put to good use. Today, however, hockey and ice skating were forgone in exchange for a veritable war of a snowball fight. Many of the smashers who were not previously occupied had joined in the fun. On one side of the combat was a rather flimsy and simple wall, only 4 feet high. Here, Toon Link, Ness, Villager, Link, Shulk and Pac Man were trying unsuccessfully to defend their tiny shelter from the onslaught of snow being hurled at them relentlessly. This massacre was courtesy of the Koopalings, who had teamed up with their Dad to create a giant snow fortress opposite the others, complete with icicle spikes and cannons, firing massive piles of snow.

Noticing Zapper and the dog at the doors of the mansion, watching the battle, Shulk hollered to them with great urgency.

"Hey Zapper! Give us a hand would you? We're getting killed out he-" was all the Homs lad could get across before another boulder of snow hit him square in the face, and sent him flying backwards through the air in a very comical fashion. The Koopalings howled with laughter.

Zapper gave a slight chuckle himself, the turned to his dog. "Well boy, want to give them a hand? Boy?"

Where he thought he would find his loyal companion, only paw prints remained. Zapper looked up again to see his Retriever, sporting a small soldier helmet and armed with a snow cannon up in the barracks of the Koopa Fort. The dog and the Koopalings laughed as the canine rained snow upon the other team. Zapper shook his head. Of course his dog would join the winning side.

"C'mon Zap! We need you! Augh! That stings!" Link cried before a well-aimed snowball hit him the back of the neck and went down his tunic.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Zapper called back, and began making his way through the fallen snow to his new team. A snowball hit him square in the back, and he turned to see his own pet snickering at him.

"That little traitor of a mutt." He muttered to himself. "He'd probably sell me and the duck to the Subspace Army if he could make a profit…"

Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted from the mansion, and everyone immediately stopped their snowball fight and turned to the noise. Whatever was going on inside was clearly serious. Zapper could hear the clamoring of the other smashers, and picked out a loud roar or two. A loud BANG and flash of light had everyone running inside to see what was happening. And it wasn't anything they were expecting.

The foyer of the house looked for all the world like a stampede of flaming Tauros had just ran through. Furniture was overturned, the walls were charred, and the unconscious bodies of a few brave Pikmin lay scattered around. Villager ran up to the closest plant-like being, a blue Pikmin struggling to its feet, and helped it up. The two exchanged some muted dialogue, which nobody could quite understand, and eventually the Pikmin pointed off towards the ballroom. Villager gestured to the others and they all headed off to find whatever caused this. Clearly, Duck Hunt's day was not going to be as peaceful as they had hoped.

…...

Charizard's species weren't exceptionally hostile by any means. In fact these Pokémon are quite friendly, and never attack a defenseless opponent. However, Master Hand was anything but defenseless.

After their encounter in the mail room, Charizard and Master Hand began a very heated argument over whether or not Charizard's Trainer was allowed to return to the mansion for the holidays. In Master Hand's mind, it was perfectly reasonable to forbid any outsiders from coming to the mansion. Charizard disagreed, as his Trainer had been a smasher only a few months prior and should be allowed to return if he pleased. Harsh words quickly turned to blows, and the fire type, blinded with rage, currently had the upper hand in the fight. The two had already torn though the mail room, training room, hallways and foyer, and, out of places to go, Master Hand was trapped in the ballroom.

Many other smashers had tried to stop Charizard's rampage. Olimar was the first one to notice, and had his Pikmin jump on the dragon to try and slow him down. This did little more than irritate the angry Pokémon further. Peach, Mario and Samus, now in her Power Suit, all tried unsuccessfully to stop him as well. Every time they got near enough to restrain him, Charizard would either spew flames or fly off. Currently, the 4 of them, and the smashers from outside, had congregated together and had entered the ballroom just in time to see Charizard charging up his Flare Blitz attack, while Master Hand continued to try and reason with him.

"Charizard, stop!" Peach yelled, but it was in vain. The Pokémon gave out a mighty roar and had already launched the attack, and was hurdling right for his boss.

"Enough of this," Master Hand's voice rang out in frustration. "If you won't listen to reason then I see no other choice."

As Charizard drew nearer, Master Hand recoiled slightly. Right as the Flare Blitz was about to connect, Master Hand swung himself forwards, and in one swift motion had smacked Charizard clear across the room. The dragon cried out in pain as his large body crashed right into a wall, causing it to collapse.

Everyone in the room was too stunned to move, or even speak. Master Hand, breathing heavily, winced in pain as the burns and cuts finally took their toll. Peach was the first to snap out of the shock, and ran over to where Charizard had landed. Olimar and Zapper quickly joined her, and as they pulled the fire/flying type out of the rubble, Master Hand spoke. His normally confident voice was now very shaky.

"Bring him to the hospital wing at once. Link, fetch Doctor Mario. No one is to engage Charizard until I have spoken with him. Understood?"

The smashers were still muted. A few nodded their heads. Peach was hysterical as Bowser and his children lifted the unconscious Pokémon and carried him off. In a flash of light, Master Hand had disappeared from the ballroom, off to tend to his own wounds.

"Some holidays." Zapper mumbled as he and the others went back to their rooms. No one was in a festive mood anymore.

**Next Time: Consequences and Consideration! Hope you guys are liking it so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again to Child at Heart Forever, Dapper Dee VI, WR3000 and bowsercrusher65 for your reviews! Again, if ever you want a character to be in this story just let me know!**

Chapter 4: Another Chapter

2 days had passed since Charizard and Master Hand had fought, but the events were still fresh in everyone's mind. Doctor Mario had kept everyone updated on the condition of their fellow smasher, and Master Hand. Thankfully, Charizard hadn't sustained any fatal injuries, but he did have a concussion from the impact with the ballroom wall. Master Hand, while not hospitalized, also took a beating from the scuffle, and was treated for a 3rd degree burn on his palm, as well as multiple cut and bite marks.

While it was still a tragedy, one smasher was doing his best to lift everyone's spirits. Back when the tournament started, Captain Falcon had begun a weekly event for him and his "closest friends," where they would relax and watch a movie. Falcon's movie nights were put on hold for a while due to unprecedented events, but recently had started up again, and had become much more popular. Tonight, the entire theatre was filled with solemn smashers, with the usual exception of Ganondorf. Captain Falcon swaggered up to the front of the crowd, with 3 DVD's in hand, cleared his throat and…

…And nobody was listening. Those who weren't watching the weather channel or talking to each other about Charizard were simply zoned out. It took 2 more "ahems" from Falcon until Lucina and Robin, who were sitting in the front row, finally took notice of the racer in front of them.

"Oh! Sorry Falcon, did you want to introduce the Movie Night again?" Lucina asked in her sweet and innocent voice. It always made the F-Zero Pilot's heart melt when she spoke. Falcon had deduced that if you took a chocolate bar, drowned it in honey and maple syrup, covered it in sugar and made a puppy hold it, it would only be half as sweet as the sound made in Lucina's larynx.

"Everyone! Please settle down so our friend can start the event!" Robin chimed in. The racer frowned. He had deduced that if you took an octopus, dunked it in horseradish, had all the smashers sneeze on it and left it outside for a week, the result would only be half as gross as Robin was. Falcon was never 100% sure why he disliked the magician so much, but that didn't stop him from giving Robin the cold shoulder whenever he could.

What made matters worse was that everyone actually stopped and focused on Falcon after Robin spoke up. If he wasn't wearing his helmet, everyone would see how red his face was with anger. But, being the flashy character he was, Captain Falcon forced a cocky grin and addressed the mage in front of him.

"Thanks," he uttered to the mage in a deathly steady voice. Then he turned to the rest of his audience. "Alright everyone! So since tomorrow is Christmas Eve, there's no better way to celebrate than by watching some classic holiday-themed and family-friendly movies, am I right!?"

Lucina and Robin both gave a simple "Yes," and someone from the back row coughed, but that was it. Falcon was becoming increasingly frustrated and discouraged with this dull group, but in true Captain Douglass J. Falcon fashion he didn't break character.

"YEAH! Alright then you guys, our movies today are…drumroll please?"

Pikachu, from his seat, gave an exasperated sigh and began rapidly hitting his stomach with his front paws.

"Option number one…'Star Wars Episode III- Revenge of the Sith'!"

Somewhere in the crowd, a loud and obnoxious voice rang out. "How is Star-a Wars a Christmas-a Movie?" And another one, with a British Accent, added "And why would we start with 'Episode 3'?! That doesn't make sense in _any_ kind of viewing order!"

Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd, and Falcon was beginning to lose his cool. Ignoring Wario and Shulk's comments, he continued with his list.

"Option number two is 'Iron Man 3'!"

Immediately the same outcries rang out. Falcon had no idea why the other Smashers were against his choices.

"Iron Man 3 takes place during Christmas!" he retorted with indignation. The arguing steadily became louder in the theatre. Pikachu continued to drum on his belly.

Almost shouting over the crowd, Falcon finished off his list "And option 3 is 'The Room!'"

At this point, nobody was quiet. Everyone was chastising the Captain over his awful choice in "holiday-themed" and "family-friendly" films. Bowser and his kids got up from their seats and left the auditorium. Pikachu complained loudly about his aching paws, but continued to beat his little yellow tummy. Crazy Hand threw a bucket of popcorn at Falcon from the back row.

With veins throbbing in anger, Captain Falcon, now close to snapping, attempted one last time to proceed with his movie night. "SO…Who votes for Star Wars?"

Wario piped up once again "Who votes to keep watching the weather channel?" Almost every hand in the audience was thrown into the air, and Falcon, finally fed up with this humiliation, threw down his DVD's and stormed off. A few smashers laughed at his misery, and the arguing continued. That is, until one VERY loud voice silenced everyone.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" bellowed King DeDeDe from his seat in the second row. All the fighters jumped at this drastic increase in volume, then turned to listen to what the pompous penguin had to say. The King himself actually turned next to him and lifted a much smaller smasher into the air, so that his voice could be heard. Ever since the Subspace Emissary, DeDeDe and Ness had become rather good friends, and although he was cocky and rude, the ruler of Dreamland felt like it was his duty to look out for the little PSI Kid.

The young psychic was holding a VHS in his hands, and offered it to the crowd "I brought a movie too…um…it's not super Christmassy but I think it'll work…"

"That's ok Ness, what's your movie?" Link spoke up from the other side of the room. Everyone had much more patience with the kid than with the eccentric racer, it seemed.

"Um…it's 'Oliver!'…this was Lucas' favourite movie." The characters began murmuring once again, however this time, it was not with hostility, but with a much more favourable reception.

"So 'Oliver!' it is then!" Lucina confirmed. The smashers settled back into their seats, except for Captain Falcon, who gave a dry snort from his position standing in the corner. Lucina put in the tape, cutting off the Lakitu and Castform on the weather channel, who were reporting about some kind of vicious snowstorm blowing in tomorrow. Pikachu continued to drum, tears welling up in his eyes from the pain.

…...

Charizard was finally coming to down in the hospital wing. His beady eyes fluttered open, and he gave a low grunt as a sharp pain ran through his head. Doctor Mario was beside his bed, trying to maneuver a bandage around the Pokémon's horns. The physician noticed Charizard consciousness, and spoke to him quietly.

"Take it easy, Charizard. You have a slight concussion." Oddly enough, Doctor Mario lacked the thick Italian accent present in normal Mario. "If you just keep still and sleep for a day, I should be able to release you in time for Christmas."

At the mention of the holiday, Charizard's memory kicked in: most notably, how Master Hand forbid his Trainer to come visit him, and how he had attacked the floating glove. Said glove was actually in the room with the two fighters, stationed by the window and gazing out into the night.

"Mr. Hand, he's awake." The good doctor called over to the appendage, who hovered over to Charizard's bed. The fire type growled and turned away.

"Thank you, Doctor. You are dismissed." Master Hand spoke, his usual confident voice restored. Doctor Mario nodded and exited quickly, not wanting to be caught in the middle of any impending conflict.

"Charizard, I'd like to apologize." The Pokémon perked up in confusion, and turned to face his boss with a puzzled expression. The hand continued. "It was unacceptable of me to use physical force against you, regardless of the circumstances. As the CEO of Smash Brothers I cannot express how deeply I regret my actions." Charizard's expression softened slightly. It was odd to see Master Hand so apologetic and showing this much sentiment, since he was usually retained such stoic expression.

"I can assure you that no harm shall befall you by my hand ever again, Charizard, with the obvious exception of Brawls." Charizard nodded in understanding, but winced as a headache pounded against his brain. Master Hand noticed this and sent out a strange pulse of energy from his ring finger. The pain in Charizard's head was quickly subdued, but not eliminated.

"Alas, I'm afraid that my healing powers are not very strong, but I will do what I can to ensure a speedy recovery." Charizard grunted in acknowledgment, accepting Master Hand's apology. Suddenly, another thought ran through the lizard's head, and Charizard began relaying his question to his boss. If he had any recognizable facial features, Master Hand's jaw would've clenched at the question. With a hint of impatience in his voice, Master Hand replied.

"Again, Charizard, despite this incident, my decision rests. Your Trainer cannot be allowed to return for Christmas! If I let him come, then it would go against the mansion's own policies of 'No Outsiders.'" Charizard's frown returned, and a low, threatening growl rumbled from his throat. Master Hand thought of a question of his own, and as calmly as he could, asked the dragon.

"If you wished to spend the holiday with Red so much, why did _you_ not go visit _him_? Surely it would've caused far less hassle?"

Charizard bared his teeth slightly, and began angrily roaring a response. Since his Trainer had resumed his Pokémon journey after leaving the tournament, there was no easy way to locate him. For all Charizard knew, Red was on the top of some snow-capped mountain in Johto!

"I see. Well, that is unfortunate. It appears as though you will have to make do with your friends here at the mansion this Christmas. I bid you a good night, Charizard." With that, master Hand floated towards the exit. Halfway out the door, a searing ball of flames hit him in the back. Angrily, Master Hand slammed the door and vanished instantaneously. Charizard, sitting up in his bed, felt a sizzling pain on his tail: his tears were extinguishing his tail flames. He rolled back over in bed to avoid potential suicide, and did not notice a shadowy spot in the room disappear.

…...

The movie night, despite off to a slightly rocky start, was now progressing smoothly. Everyone was now back in the holiday spirit, enjoying the musical film being presented to them. Even the salty Captain Falcon had taken a seat next to Lucina, and any bad tidings were nowhere to be found. That is, until an explosion of smoke erupted in front of the screen. The smashers were all startled, but relaxed when they saw Greninja standing before them, who turned around and paused the movie, right in the middle of the large scale musical number 'Consider Yourself.' With urgency, Greninja began babbling to the smashers, who were all thoroughly confused. However, one Goddess understood the ninja frog perfectly.

"My goodness! Poor Charizard, he must feel so sad and lonely right now." Palutena said, in reply to Greninja's message. Pit and Dark Pit, who were sitting on either side of her, both inquired about what the water type Pokémon had said. The other smashers were wondering the same thing.

"Greninja found out why Charizard and Master Hand were fighting the other day! It turns out that Charizard wanted to invite his old Trainer to come spend Christmas with him, but Master Hand won't allow him!"

The smashers all began talking to each other, saying things like "That's awful," "Well, that _is_ the mansion's policy…" and "God, I hate that Master Hand! I oughta give him a Falcon Punch in the kisser!"

Pit looked off in deep thought, a rare thing for the angel. Dark Pit, being Pit's clone, immediately thought of the same thing. In unison, the twosome spoke to the crowd.

"We should do something to make Charizard feel better! Hey! Quit copying me!"

"That's a wonderful idea, Pit and Pittoo." Palutena addressed the angels. "What do you have in mind?" The other smashers inquired the same thing.

Pit and Dark Pit looked out to the screen, which was paused on two young boys and a full chorus of people in the middle of a huge, well-known song. Light bulbs went off in their little crowned heads. The angels spoke again.

"I think I have an idea…Quit it!"

**So there's another chapter for you guys! Again, your support is greatly appreciated, so please leave a review and/or favourite!**

**Next: The Pits' Production**


	5. Chapter 5

**What? Another chapter already? You bet! I was on a roll so I couldn't just stop! Thanks to Child at Heart Forever, SoaringHawk257 and F-ZeroSamus for their reviews! SPECIAL shout out to F-ZeroSamus, who pointed out a very big typo, which would've changed the entire story! Enjoy this chapter! (I own nothing!)**

Chapter 5: The Semi-Lighthearted-But-Also-Tragic Chapter

"Alright guys, one more time, from the top!"

Every smasher in the mansion knew that Pit could be read like a book. It was mostly due to Pit's own gullibility, but there weren't many who didn't know all of his secrets. That, coupled with Palutena's occasional retellings of the angel's antics, meant that nobody was really surprised at anything that came out of his rather large mouth.

So, naturally, when everyone found out that Pit was a fantastic singer, it came as a great shock. Not even Palutena was aware that he had such a heavenly set of pipes. Pit had admitted that he had been a long-time lover of the fine arts, despite his stage-fright, and had often snuck away from Skyworld to watch some Shakespeare in the city.

When Greninja had told the others about Charizard's predicament, both Pit and his doppelgänger, Dark Pit, had jumped at the opportunity to delve into their hidden talents in order to lift the Pokémon's spirits. Although it had purely been a coincidence, the group had been watching the musical 'Oliver!' at the time, and had paused the film in the middle of the cheery song 'Consider Yourself' when Greninja interrupted. The angels had decided that it was a perfect song to preform to Charizard that night, since the song was about inclusion and Charizard was feeling so lonely.

Of course, in order to preform 'Consider Yourself' that evening, the smashers needed to rehearse.

More than Pit had thought.

Since there were very few character who had any interest in singing, acting or dancing, the mansion was lacking a studio to practice Pit's act in. Squeezing a little under half of the roster into Pit's bedroom wasn't easy, but there was no alternative option, since Dark Pit and his group won the coin toss to determine who got to use the training room.

Among Pit's makeshift choir was Shulk, Lucina, Robin, The Mario Brothers, Peach, Zelda, Ganondorf (who surprised everyone with his beautiful bass voice), Wario, Ness, Lucario, and a handful of other smashers who could speak English. While Pit appreciated everyone's enthusiasm for his idea, some fighters weren't the best singers in the world.

The group began to sing once more. "_Consider Yourself at home! Consider Yourself-"_

"Gah! Stop, stop, STOP! Wario, you're in the wrong key again! For the last time, you're a bass! Stop trying to hit the tenor notes! Are you tone deaf or something?!" The fat Italian shrunk back a little bit, not used to being chewed out so violently. And by Pit, of all characters!

The usually bubbly angel had turned into a harsh, no-nonsense director, and you can bet he wanted his creation to be perfect. The vocal group had barely made it through the song once without messing up, and it was giving Pit a migraine.

"Ugh, and that's not even the worst part! Lucina, you're too slow on the entry! Robin, you're going too fast! Luigi, you're voice keeps cracking. I think you'd better go join Pittoo's group. Lady Palutena, you were perfect! Alph, you need to be louder!" Pit rubbed his temples in frustration. "Try it again people, from bar six. Jeez, I hope Pittoo's having better luck than I am!"

….

"Pit better be having better luck than I am!"

Although he was a clone of Pit, and they shared a lot of the same mannerisms, Dark Pit was still his own entity, and had a slightly different skill set than his light counterpart.

"Ok you sore excuses for thespians! We're taking it from the top! And a-five, six, seven eight!"

Where Pit was a great singer, Dark Pit was a very gifted dancer. The evil angel was currently trying to choreograph a large dance number, befitting the upcoming Christmas Eve spectacle. But, like his brother, Pittoo's group was far less skilled than he was. Among Dark Pit's chorus line were Donkey and Diddy Kong, the Duck Hunt Trio, Greninja, Sheik, Kirby, the Wii Fit Trainers, Ike and the rest of the smashers who couldn't speak English.

As their pianist, Mr. Game And Watch, and Pikachu, still drumming his stomach, began playing the accompanying music, Dark Pit yelled at his dancers as they rehearsed. And he wasn't pleased with their performance.

"OH COME ON, JIGGLYPUFF! This is the 5th time you've missed your cue!" The balloon Pokémon's eyes began to water at the criticism. It was bad enough already that Pit wouldn't let her sing!

But he wasn't done yet. "Wii Fit! I thought you guys had better balance than that! Stick the landing on that jump, Diddy! You! Dog! Why are you even here!? You dance like you have two left feet!"

"He DOES have two left feet, you imbecile! He's a dog!" Zapper yelled back from the 'stage', defending his pet.

"Then he'd better put them to good use!" Dark Pit retaliated. Duck Hunt gave an exasperated sigh and continued stumbling around awkwardly. One could only hope that the Pits could pull their acts together for their hurting friend in time.

"Ike! I swear, you sell this dance or I will cut your feet off and place them above my fire place as a trophy!"

It's very unlikely.

….

Like a good patient, Charizard stayed in bed the entire day, hoping that Doctor Mario would release him that night. To pass the time, the fire type thought of terrible things he could do to Master Hand when he got out of the hospital. With the exception of starting another fight, his best idea involved a door and a precariously perched bucket of water. Charizard decided that Charizards were not good at making evil plans. He flicked through the television set beside his bed. With the expectation of the weather channel's report of an incoming blizzard, there wasn't anything airing besides Christmas specials and movies. This just put Charizard in an even more sour mood. If he could talk, he probably would muttered something along the lines of "Bah, Humbug," as he knocked over the small device with his tail.

As eight o'clock rolled around, the lizard assumed that the rest of the mansion was just sitting down to eat the traditional Christmas Eve dinner: Tourtière, glazed carrots, scalloped potatoes and more. The thought of all the delicious dishes made his mouth water, and the thought of missing out on it because of Master Hand made his eyes water. Charizard gave a depressed chuff and rolled over in his bed to get some more sleep. Hopefully someone would save him some of the dinner.

….

Master Hand floated around in his office in a manner similar to pacing. He had been feeling such a strange sensation ever since his initial conflict with Charizard three days ago, and couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Nevertheless, he sighed and floated over to his closet. Tonight was Christmas Eve, which meant he had to go downstairs and attend the one of the many stupid dinners that were held this time of year. It was the same story each time: He'd float downstairs when Crazy Hand fetched him, give a quick bullcrap speech about the holidays, how fortunate they all are, and worst of all - family and friends. He especially wasn't looking forward to that part, in light of what recently went down. Then he'd start the dinner, teleport his food to another dimension and claim that's how he ate if he was questioned, claim that he is full, bid the fighters good night and leave. Crazy always chewed him out for it afterwards, but he really couldn't care less.

He had just pulled out a large bow tie from his closet and attached it to the base of his wrist when a loud rapping on the door snapped him back to reality.

"Yes Crazy, I'll be out in a minute…" he called to the other side of the door with a hint of boredom tainting his voice. As he floated over and opened the door, he was met with a frantic left hand jerking around. To anyone else, this may have seemed unhealthy, or dangerous, but everyone at the mansion knew that it was just how Crazy Hand was. Master Hand knew this better than anyone. After all, Crazy was his brother. But something was slightly off with Crazy this evening, as if something was actually amiss.

"M! It's a catastrophe! A disaster! It's unprecedented beyond all comprehension!" Crazy Hand assaulted his brother with a plethora of other synonyms before Master Hand put a finger to Crazy's non-existent mouth.

Master Hand sighed the second time that evening. He usually had to deal with his brother's overreactions, so this was obviously not an issue for him to lose sleep over.

"Deep breaths, Crazy. Now, what's the problem? Did the Waddle Dees forget to put out your favourite cup again?" he asked his sibling, with a bit of amusement.

"No! Don't be stupid, M! This is actually important!"

Master Hand chuckled to himself. What was important to Crazy was usually of no consequence to any other resident. "Alright then. So, what's wrong, then?"

Crazy Hand, still catching his breath, replied. "It's the smashers! Nobody's shown up for the dinner!"

An alarm went off in Master Hand's head. How was he supposed to lie to their faces if there was nobody at the table? And what could possibly be so distracting that they would miss the annual feast?

"Well don't just float there, M! Go find them!" Crazy hollered back at his brother as he left to go back to the dining hall. Master Hand broke out of his daze once again, and after a moment, snapped his fingers and teleported to the hospital wing.

…

Pit was amazed at how sound of a sleeper Charizard was.

The two angels had managed the impossible. Both the song and dance were performance ready. The entire cast had met up in the dining hall early, then made their way down to Charizard's hospital room. Incredibly, the beast didn't awake from his slumber, even when all the smashers shuffled into his room, some wearing tap shoes, some wheeling a grand piano, and one electric mouse still pounding away at his round belly. Once everything was in place, Pit and Dark Pit made their way over to where Charizard slept. There had been a huge argument over who would wake the Pokémon. After all, it was common knowledge that one should never wake a sleeping dragon. But, since it was their idea in the first place, everyone had determined that it was the Pits' job. With a nervous, simultaneous gulp, both angels poked the large mass of sheets, and everyone held their breath.

Thankfully, Charizard's concussion kept him from over-reacting. With a snort, the groggy Pokémon awoke and turned to face his makeshift alarm clocks, rubbing his eyes with his large claws. When his vision finally came back into focus, the pocket monster gave a surprised grunt at the mass of smashers before him, then turned to the Pits beside his bed and gave a longer, questioning growl.

"Well…I actually have no idea what you just asked, so I'll just tell you what we're all doing here!" Pit told the dragon cheerfully.

Dark Pit continued "Anyway, we heard about why you were all down and stuff," Charizard looked aside and gave a small snort, "So, we all just wanted to let you know…"

Both Pits stood there with stupid looking grins on their faces. After a few seconds, Charizard and the others developed questioned expressions, and everyone turned to look at the angels.

Pit cleared his throat. "Ahem.."

Nothing happened.

Dark Pit cleared _his_ throat. "a-HEM!"

Still nothing. The twosome turned towards their fellow performers.

"GAME AND WATCH!" The yelled in unison.

The two-dimensional smasher jumped and gave a startled "Beep!" then finally began playing the opening bars of the Smasher's song. Pikachu's drumming continued still.

Pit jumped right into the song as Dark Pit flew back to his dancers and began to lead them in a complicated choreography.

" _Consider Yourself at home! Consider Yourself one of the family!_"

Charizard was taken aback by this spontaneous musical number: as far as he knew, people didn't randomly break into song unless they were in a Disney movie.

Shulk cut in with his section of the song.

" _We've taken to you so strong! It's clear we're going to get along!__"_

At this point, Charizard realized that this whole thing was meant for him! A smile began to creep onto his face.

Soon, all the smashers were dancing or singing. Charizard was sitting up with a huge smile spread across his jaw and his wings flared open in excitement.

" _Consider Yourself well in! Consider Yourself part of the furniture! There isn't a lot to spare… Who cares? Whatever we've got we-_"

The song was interrupted by a blinding flash of light that appeared in the center of the room. Most of the dancers lost their balance and stumbled over in shock. Game and watch stopped his piano playing, and the Pits began to cry in the corner, mumbling about how their "fabulous creation" was ruined. Pikachu kept drumming.

"What on earth are you all doing!?" The light dissipated to reveal none other than the head honcho himself. Master Hand looked around at the scene before him, and shook his metaphorical head.

"I have not given any of you permission to be in this room! Everyone leave immediately! There's supposed a feast taking place!" Master Hand bellowed in frustration. If there was something he hated more than the holidays, it was being disobeyed. The smashers all groaned and began to pack up their show.

Charizard's mood had changed quite drastically in the last 30 seconds. He stood up in bed and bared his teeth at the appearance of the Hand. His tail flame began to grow in temperature and size as Charizard roared in anger at Master Hand. Not only had this glove stopped him from being with his trainer, but now he was taking away his friends at the mansion too! Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as Charizard continued to rant at their leader.

Master Hand was also fed up. The past three days had been so strenuous on him, he had been losing sleep over his conflicts with the dragon. He wasn't about to lose anymore.

"Charizard, that's enough! I will not endure this verbal abuse any longer! I am the boss of this tournament, and my word is law!" With a flick of his wrist, Master Hand forced Charizard back into his bed with some kind of unseen force. "Now you will stay there until I deem you are well enough to continue battling!" Charizard began to struggle against the power holding him down. He roared in defiance.

Most of the smashers were appalled to see this kind of punishment. Mario and some of the others began to criticize Master Hand and attempted to reason with the appendage.

Something snapped inside of Charizard. He was done with Master Hand. With a great bellow, Charizard managed to lift himself off the bed and break free of his restraints. He flapped his wings and shot a stream of fire into the air, missing the Hand by inches. Charizard was going to spend his holiday with his Trainer, no matter what.

As Charizard's wings began to lift him off the ground, everyone stood in shock. With one last roar, the fire/flying type flew straight towards the closest window.

"Charizard! If you leave this mansion you will be BANNED from this Tournament!" Master hand mustered up his loudest voice and yelled after the dragon, who stopped and flapped in place, only inches away from the window. Everyone was silent.

Charizard turned around to look at everyone. He took one silent moment to look straight at the Hand, who had ruined his holiday. Then he spat a gob of magma at the floor, and barrelled through the window, flying away into the night.

Everyone immediately began to panic and argue. Doctor Mario ran up to Master Hand, who was frozen with surprise.

"Sir! Charizard still has a concussion! He is not stable enough to fly! You must get him back!"

Peach spoke up next. "Oh my goodness! That huge snowstorm they've been talking about on the weather channel is supposed to hit tonight!" This extra news sent everyone back into a tizzy.

Doctor Mario and the others looked back up at the Hand, who had yet to move a muscle, and was staring at the spot of lava on the ground in front of him.

"Sir…Charizard's life is in peril. You must rescue him!" The physician pleaded.

Master Hand began to shake. Very quietly, he addressed the issue.

"He's made his choice." Another light, and Master Hand was gone once again.

The smashers all stared at the place where their leader floated a second ago, slack jawed. Peach, through her tears, noticed the snow begin to fall outside.

**Author's Note: The rehearsal in this chapter was heavily based on my own experiences in the theatre…sometimes it really does get that hectic! From this point on, I won't be accepting any character requests, because I have the rest of the story more or less planned out (although I had writer's block for a while!). If you want to hear what 'Consider Yourself' sounds like, watch: watch?v=2MIUEGnzzs0. Merry Holidays, Comrades, and good luck to those of you who have also entered SmashKing24's Christmas Contest! I've read some really great stories (I just suck at leaving reviews!)!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again to Child at Heart Forever, Starryskys102, bowsercrusher65, WR3000 and Dapper Dee VI for your kind reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story so far! Without further ado, let's jump right into the next chapter!**

Chapter 6: Number Six

Charizard was feeling pretty great. He'd finally told off that dictator Master Hand, and he was well on his way to finding his trainer. First things first, he'd have to stop by Pallet Town in the Kanto Region. There, he could ask Red's mother or the Professor where his trainer was. With a satisfied snort, the Pokémon began to fly north, towards his first destination.

An hour or so later, Charizard had yet to reach the mainland of Kanto, or even Cinnabar Island. This puzzled the fire type: Kanto was one of the closest regions to Smashville, so by all accounts he should have reached it by now. Light snow began to fall around him, but he didn't mind. If anything, the sudden precipitation made it feel more like Christmas. The beast's great wings carried his bulk onwards through the peaceful night.

A few minutes later, and the snow began to fall faster. A headache began to plague Charizard's cranium, which made him wobble slightly. Shaking it off, he continued forwards. Finally, he saw some lights in the distance! Surely it was his homeland, the towns and cities light up for the holidays! As he approached, he stopped mid-flight, losing a bit of altitude, as another surge of pain shot through his head. As he began to resume his flight, he gave a cry of pain as something stung his wings and back. Freezing rain had begun to fall, along with the heavy snow which was obscuring the dragon's vision.

Strong winds began to blow Charizard all around the night sky. Every time he regained his balance, his concussion would send more pain coursing through him, causing him to stumble again. The freezing rain began to take its toll on his tail flame, which began to decrease in power. His wing tips began to freeze over as well. Disoriented and freezing, Charizard flew forwards in desperation to find shelter.

The blanket of snow hid the face of rock in the Pokémon's path from vision.

Colliding headfirst with the cliff face, Charizard lost consciousness and began to plummet towards the ground below him. The last thing the flying type remembered was the warm taste of his own blood filling his mouth.

…...

Incredibly, the Smash Mansion was quiet that night.

Since Charizard left and Master Hand disappeared, most of the others either went to bed or donned their heaviest coats to brave the elements and look for the former smasher themselves. Of course, they didn't find a trace of their fiery friend, which only dampened their spirits further. By 10 o'clock, everyone was back inside and getting ready to lay down and sleep. Not that many of them would get much sleep, but there was nothing more to do. After all, the feast had been unanimously cancelled, and no one was in the mood for roasting Chesnaughts or singing carols.

Link and Zelda had curled up together on a couch by the fire, safe in each other's arms. Mario and Luigi had decided to join Wario for a rum and eggnog, although none of the plumbers actually felt like drinking. Ness, Toon Link and Villager had all snuck out of bed and began to write last minute letters to Santa Clause, asking for Charizard to come back. King DeDeDe had assured the kids that he knew Santa personally, and he would make sure their letters got to him before he left the North Pole. Satisfied, the droopy-eyed children each gave DeDeDe a big hug and returned to their rooms. Despite of all that happened, the King, and a few onlookers, couldn't help but smile.

Pikachu wasn't taking Charizard's absence well. The little Pokémon loved the dragon like a big brother, and, although he'd never admit it, was scared of sleeping alone. Even on Christmas eve, the little mouse, still tapping weakly on his stomach, timidly asked the other Pokémon if they could all sleep together. Jigglypuff, Greninja and Lucario had all obliged. Secretly, none of them really wanted to be alone that night either. Mewtwo had initially refused and teleported off to his dark room, but after a few minutes found himself in the middle of the heap of bodies situated in Pikachu and Charizard's room. _"After all,"_ the psychic type thought to himself, _"No one should have to spend Christmas Eve in solitude, right?"_

….

Master Hand was impressed that he managed to keep his cool for so long.

The second he appeared in his room, the glove gave a loud scream of anger, causing most of the furniture to topple over, and the lamp to flicker. Making his way over to his bed, he unconsciously made his bow tie, fittingly, catch fire. Extinguishing it quickly, the Hand began to mutter to himself.

"That foolish Pokémon! He couldn't just follow my simple rules, could he!? And now he's gone and sentenced himself to death!"

Master Hand paused for a moment, his words finally sinking in.

"My god, he's going to die! And all the smashers are going to blame _me _for it! This will ruin Smash Brothers! It will ruin me! I need to get him ba-"

He paused for the second time. The gears in his head began to turn.

"No...I couldn't get him back. He'd never go with me, even if I found him in this storm. And I need to maintain my image…how would it look if the head of Smash Brothers became a yellow-bellied Meowth?! I can't go back on my own rules!"

The gears in his head became jammed and formed a headache. Master Hand gave a sigh of defeat and laid down in his bed.

"What am I going to do?"

He lay in his massive bed, tossing and turning for an hour or two, occasionally getting a glass of water, before finally drifting off into restless sleep. Not two minutes had passed before a strange noise, like the rattling of chains, awoke him. Blinking, Master Hand found himself looking at a glowing apparition, which actually was wearing rattling chains.

The usually calm Hand gave a loud shriek and jumped into the air, floating in place for a moment before his fear turned to rage.

"Crazy Hand!? What are you doing!? You scared me half to death!"

The apparition, a glowing left handed glove, was taken aback by this accusation. He spoke in a maniacal, erratic voice.

"Cr-a-a-a-zy? Who's Cr-a-a-a-zy? I am the Ghost of Christmas Presents! Ooooooooooooh!"

The 'ghost' wiggled his fingers and shook his chains for dramatic effect. Master Hand groaned.

"Please Crazy, stop it. I'm in no mood for your antics now. Now let me get some sleep!"

The 'phantom' stopped his wiggling and stared back at Master Hand. He gave a frustrated snort.

"Stop calling me Crazy! I am the Ghost of Christmas Presents! If I were this 'Crazy' you speak of, could I do _this_?"

With a snap, The Ghost of Christmas Presents severed all his fingers and had them rearrange themselves on his hand. Master Hand deadpanned.

"Yes. You do that all the time Crazy."

"Really? You must hang out with some weird people then. Anyway, I'm here to show you the error of you ways! You must go and rescue the Fire Lizard!"

Master Hand floated back into his bed, exasperated, and turned away from his visitor. The 'ghost' poked him a few times, trying to get him back out of his bed.

After a few more minutes of poking, Master Hand, now extremely irritated, turned over and stared at his unexpected guest. Sighing, he spoke.

"Look, Crazy…I mean, 'The Ghost of Christmas Presents'…" he added, noticing the apparition's clearly insulted expression. "I don't know what to do or feel about Charizard, alright? And I'm not sure if I even care. So, if it will make you go away, please 'show me the error of my ways.'"

The 'spirit' brightened, literally, and pulled Master Hand up from his mattress.

"First things first, we need to restore your Christmas Spirit! Time to take a trip down memory lane!" he chimed. Snapping his fingers, the Ghost and Master Hand were no longer in the mansion, but instead out on the streets of Smashville. If it wasn't for a slight blur on everything around them, Master Hand would've thought he were still in present day Smashville.

"_What the…? A memory?" _He thought to himself, "_But…Crazy can't enter or project memories…even I can't do that!"_

He was pulled back into reality by his Ghost, who had brought him up to a window. The two peered inside. Within, two small gloves were sitting around a brightly light Christmas tree, a cup of hot chocolate each. Upon closer inspection, Master Hand could see that it was a young him and Crazy Hand, writing letters to Santa Clause.

"You see, M? You used to love Christmas more than life itself! Why did you become such a grump?"

Master Hand was staring at the tiny hands, who had begun to hang stockings over their fireplace, thinking deeply.

"I'm…I'm not sure…Hey! Did you just call me 'M?'" he turned to face the apparition.

"Uh…next, we're going back to your present!" the Ghost replied quickly, and with another snap of his fingers, they were floating high above the living room of the Smash mansion, where most of the Smashers who weren't yet asleep were mulling about.

Master Hand began yelling at them immediately. "Why are you all still awake!? Curfew was half an hour ago! Get to bed at once!"

The fighters all looked up at the ceiling in confusion. Some of them jumped to see the two hands staring down at them, then they all got up and left the room.

The ghost began to yell as well, however, it was directed at Master Hand.

"Why did you do that?! Now I can't use them as an example to guilt you into changing your tune!"

Master Hand was taken aback for a second, but then rolled his metaphorical eyes.

"Well, my apologies." He uttered sarcastically. "Are we done yet?"

The Ghost of Christmas Presents got right up in Master Hand's face, seething with anger. "I had _hoped_ that you would be easier to deal with…but I guess you've forced my hand. Heh…forced my hand…" The spirit began chuckling uncontrollably at his own pun.

"A-hem!" Master Hand cleared his throat, trying to get his visitor back on track.

"Oh…sorry about that…" The ghost said, wiping a tear away with one of his fingers. "Anyway. I didn't want to have to do this…but it seems I must show you _the future without Charizard!_"

Lightning flashed from seemingly nowhere as the ghost snapped his fingers once again, and Master Hand found himself sitting in front of multiple screens. He recognized it immediately as the control room, where he observed all of the matches that took place among the fighters.

"Why is this important? The tournament is still going on without Charizard, is it not?" He gestured at one of the active screens for emphasis. The screen was showing a free-for-all on the Big Battlefield stage. Samus had just been thrown violently off the stage, losing her last stock and ending the match.

"Yes" The Ghost began, "But without Charizard, you were forced to find a new fighter to replace him…" He pointed at that same screen "And _he _was your only option."

Master Hand, puzzled, turned back to the screen. After a second, the results screen popped up, showing a large, purple dragon screeching in victory. It flared it's yellow wings triumphantly. Master Hand began to gasp for breath. It was impossible…surely this wasn't right!

The announcer's voice boomed on screen. "And the winner is…_Ridley_!"

Master Hand screamed at the top of his lungs, the volume powered by sheer terror.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

…

Master Hand shot straight up in the air, and found himself back in his bed. Panting, he looked around. No screens, no Ghost and, thankfully, no Ridley. He took a few more seconds to try and compose himself.

"I need to get Charizard back."

**Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the other recent ones! I wanted to get this up yesterday, but Christmas Eve dinner and family was the priority. Anyway, I won't be able to upload another chapter until earliest the 28****th****, so hopefully I can get this story completed for the deadline. Merry Christmas, everyone!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to AuraChannlerChris, Child at Heart Forever and bowsercrusher65 for your reviews! To AuraChannlerChris, the Ridley ending was meant to be funny, in case I offended you in any way. Anyway, enjoy the chapter guys! We're nearly done!**

Chapter 7: The Almost Last Chapter

"Gimme the bandages! He needs some more!"

"No he doesn't! He needs more pillows!"

Charizard, through the intense ringing in his ears, could make out a couple of voices arguing around him. The first thing he felt upon regaining consciousness was the pain. He felt the ever-present headache, stronger than ever. He felt his mouth, swollen and throbbing. He felt his tail flame, dangerously low in heat. What he _couldn't_ feel were his wings and right arm, although the Pokémon didn't worry about it presently: his aches kept his mind on other, more immediate things. Although he had woken up, he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. A few minutes earlier, he had tried to, but the lights around him were too bright, and caused his headache to flare up.

"You both have no idea what you're doing! We need to treat his fire first!" Another voice, deeper than the other two, spoke up gruffly. Charizard paused. He finally realized that he recognized these voices! Unfortunately, Charizard had a rather poor memory, and his concussion didn't help placing names to voices. He would need to open his eyes to see who was treating him. Deciding to brave the elements, Charizard's eyes flickered open. He recoiled slightly at the sudden flash of light, but he pushed through and began to gaze around.

"Well, well. Look who's up." The deep voice rang out from his left side. Turning over on the couch he found himself on, he was met with the familiar mugs of the last people he'd ever expect to see.

The deep voice belonged to none other than the intergalactic criminal himself, Wolf O'Donnell. Huddled around him were two small children, both wearing large parkas, one blue and one pink. It took the lizard a second to remember them as Popo and Nana, the Ice Climbers. Gazing around him, he took notice of his present location: A living room. There was a decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room, with many wrapped gifts underneath, and one very large cardboard box. It may have been his concussion, but the flying type swore he saw the cardboard box shift slightly towards the presents. Next to the tree was a large, marble fireplace, with either 11 or 12 colorful stocking hung above it. Charizard couldn't make out the exact total due to his condition. The couch he was on, located at the opposite side of the room, was very large. It would easily accommodate 5 people. However, Charizard's bulk took up almost the entire space.

He took notice of another couch, equally as large, not far away from his. Placed upon it were a few more characters. There was a small, blond haired boy sitting beside a young man with messy red hair, with a sword propped up at his feet. On the red-haired boy's lap slept a small yellow creature: Charizard recognized it as a Pichu, the pre-evolved form of Pikachu. The young man was a stranger to Charizard, and he didn't personally know the Pichu, but the blond child was unmistakable. It was Lucas, a child with PSI powers, and, during the Brawl, a good friend of the fire type and his trainer. Thinking of his trainer once again, tears began to flow involuntarily. The Ice Climbers shoved pass Wolf, and began to treat Charizard once again.

"Uh-oh…why is he crying?!"

"It's because he's hurting, Popo! Give him more bandages!"

"No! It's because he isn't comfortable! Wolf, get me some more pillows!"

The canine gave a snort. "I'm not getting you guys anything. You don't even know how to treat him. Get out of the way!" Wolf picked up the siblings, one in each paw, and threw them into nearby chairs. "Lucas!" he barked, "Get over here! You know more about healing than anyone else!"

The boy let out a small, startled "Eep," then got up from the couch and walked up to the Star Wolf commander and Charizard. Lucas mumbled something inaudible, gave Charizard a tiny smile, and placed his hands on Charizard's body. Almost instantly, the dragon's headache began to die down. Lifting his great head, Charizard smiled back down at the psychic. His tears began to dry.

Wolf, despite himself, also grinned. "Huh…I guess there is such a thing as a Christmas miracle." Turning around to retire to bed, he took notice of the large cardboard box, who had grown an arm and was groping around the base of the Christmas tree, trying to grab a gift. O'Donnell gave an exasperated sigh and waltzed over to the box. Nonchalantly, he kicked the box over with his boot.

Solid Snake looked up with his trademark exclamation mark popping up over his head. With his cover blown, the soldier did an impressive back roll and hid behind a chair. Amused by the scene before him, Charizard began to chuckle. He then grunted at Wolf, asking him a question. The commander looked at Charizard with a queer expression. Since he didn't speak Pokémon, he had no idea what was being asked of him.

"Uh…anyone care to explain what Smaug here just asked?" he inquired, looking around the room.

The red-haired boy spoke in Japanese, leading wolf to face-paw himself, and mutter something about how nobody here can speak normally. Another character came down from upstairs, hearing the commotion. At first, Charizard was puzzled as to why Link was here, but after a double and triple take, realized that it wasn't exactly the Hero of Time he knew at the Smash Mansion. This Link was…younger. It was the only word Charizard could come up with to describe the diminutive elf who had just entered the room.

Young Link took notice of Charizard and smiled. "So…this is Charizard eh? He looks pretty banged up."

Snake's voice piped up from behind his chair "No shit, fairy boy."

The red-haired boy began to chastise Snake in his foreign tongue, probably due to his companion's use of vulgar words.

Young Link frowned at the chair, then brought his attention back to Charizard. "Well, welcome to our house! Everybody who left Smash Bros. kinda lives here now. Sorry to say, but Red went out a few hours ago, an-"

At the mention of his Trainer, Charizard shot straight up on bed, his wings flared open and roared in excitement. However, his wings quickly closed, and Charizard winced. Lucas tried unsuccessfully to calm down Charizard, and explain that his wings and right arm were broken, and that he needed to lay back down and rest. As per usual, Lucas was ignored, and Charizard began to walk around the living room, knocking over chairs, looking for Red. Eventually, everyone managed to settle him down. Young Link and the others struck up a conversation with their guest to pass the time until Red came home, while Lucas continued to heal the beast. Charizard tried to be a good guest and listen politely to the Ice Climbers' story about Mewtwo and Doctor Mario, but their words were lost on him. All the lizard could do was stare at the front door and anticipate his trainer's return. Finally, he would spend Christmas the way he wanted to in the first place.

…

"Is everyone asleep?"

Master Hand had roused himself from bed after his awful dream, threw on his giant mitten, and made his way to Crazy's room. He didn't expect his brother to answer his door wearing a Santa Clause costume, or for both of them to ask each other the exact same question at the same time.

"Why do you want to know?" both hands asked each other, again in unison.

"Why are you wearing that?" they questioned each other, once more at the same time.

"Ugh! Crazy, stop copying me! This is an important issue!" Master Hand exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

"So is my issue!" Crazy rebutted, "I'm going to steal Christmas!"

Master Hand smacked his brother, and with a snap of his fingers, replaced Crazy's Santa outfit with a giant mitten.

"First of all, you're not stealing Christmas. Secondly, I'm going out to find Charizard, and you're going to help me."

If Crazy Hand was Crazy Mouth, he would have grinned wildly. "I guess you've finally found your Christmas Spirit, M. I knew you weren't a total humbug!"

Master Hand, underneath his mitten, flushed red. "Don't be an idiot, Crazy. I-I'm just worried for the tournament. That's all."

"Sure you are, M. Sure you are." Crazy whispered coyly. He then patted his brother on the back and declared, "Let's go find a dragon!"

….

The two Hands hadn't been out in the storm five minutes before Crazy Hand gave up.

"We're never going to find Charizard in this storm, M! Let's go back to the Mansion and you can help me steal Christmas!"

Master Hand yelled at his brother at the top of his lungs, out of anger and to be heard over the strong winds.

"NO! WE'RE NOT GOING BACK UNTIL WE'VE FOUND HIM! HE'S GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T, AND IT WILL BE _ALL_ _MY FAULT_!"

The brothers floated in place for a moment in silence, before Master Hand, turned and spoke, quietly. "I won't be able to live with myself until I've found him. You can go back if you want, but I'm staying."

Crazy Hand, for the first time in his life, was quiet. Of course, it didn't last long. Shooting himself forward, Crazy Hand tackled his brother and the two fell in the deep snow. Picking himself up, Master Hand threw a snowball violently at Crazy.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

Crazy picked himself up, snapping his fingers to clean himself from snow. "Well excuuuuuuse me, Princess, would you rather spend Christmas as a Master Pancake?" He pointed past Master Hand at the remnants of a small avalanche, which had fallen right where Master Hand had been floating only a few seconds ago.

Master Hand took a moment before apologizing to his brother. Both Hands looked up at the cliff from which the snow slide had originated. Master Hand quickly took notice of a strange indent on the rock face above them. Floating up to investigate, the Hands gasped as they saw that the indent was dripping blood. But what really got them excited was that the indent had a very Charizard-esque shape.

"Look, Crazy! Charizard was here! He must've flown into this cliff!"

Realization hit Master Hand like a truck.

"Oh my god! He flew into this cliff! Then he must have fallen…and by that logic, he'll be below us now! C'mon!"

"Brilliant Holmes, how do you do it?" Crazy Hand quipped at his brother, as they floated back down to the base of the cliff.

Fortunately for them, the snowfall had died down a while ago, so any footprints hadn't been totally covered up yet. Upon finding the outline of Charizard's body, and two pairs of boot prints leading away from the site of the crash, Master Hand's hope was restored, and the two began to follow the tracks.

….

"C'mon guys! Let's get back home before the snow starts up again!"

Red and his two Pokémon, Squirtle and Ivysaur, had gone out a few hours prior to Charizard's arrival at his house. The holiday season had been very stressful for the boy. He had been too busy keeping his roommates from tearing each other apart and maintaining their home to do any Christmas shopping.

Unfortunately, their trip home from the mall was postponed for nearly three hours due to the snowstorm. The three of them and a few other late shoppers were trapped inside the mall that whole time, and at the first signs of the snow letting up, everyone made a break for their homes. Red's house was a bit of a walk from the mall; being only 15 years old, he couldn't legally drive, and since Charizard was at the Smash Mansion he couldn't fly where he needed to go.

He continued to trudge through the deep snow, with Ivysaur and Squirtle tailing him. Red was very thankful he had such great Pokémon. They had even volunteered to help carry some of Red's many bags.

"Saur!" Red turned at his Pokémon's call. Ivysaur and Squirtle were gesturing frantically at something in the distance.

"What on earth is that?" Red asked aloud as the strange figure began to come closer. It didn't take long for Red to realize that, whatever it was, it was coming straight for them, and fast!

"Look out!" Red cried and he tackled his Pokémon into a nearby snowbank. Seconds later, what appeared to be two enormous mittens zoomed past them like a freight train. Red and his Pokémon were all thoroughly confused.

"Squirtle, squirt, squirtle!" The tiny turtle Pokémon began speaking frantically to his trainer. Those strange mittens were heading for their house! Ivysaur used her vines to wipe away the hats of snow on all three of their heads. The trainer got up and dusted his red winter jacket.

"Well don't just sit there guys! Let's go find out what's going on!" Red lifted Squirtle out of the snowbank, while Ivysaur merely barged right through and back out onto the road. Picking up their purchases, the threesome began to run after the speeding mitts.

….

Thanks to Lucas, Charizard's wings and arm were on the mend. His headache had also died down, and the bleeding from his gums had subsided. The Pokémon gave Lucas a nuzzle as thanks, and everyone continued to enjoy each other's company. Except for Pichu, who was still sleeping soundly.

Cups of eggnog were passed around, and Snake had been thoughtful enough to give everyone a single cookie from his stockpile. Oddly enough, all the cookies were shaped like Sonic, mega Man and Pac Man, and they were bleeding red icing. When questioned about his stash, the Snake simply replied "You never know when there will be a Christmas cookie emergency."

Charizard was formerly introduced to Young Link and the red-haired prince, Roy. It was a very nice evening, but there were still 3 characters missing, and as far as the fire lizard was concerned, the only 3 characters who mattered.

Naturally, his fiery heart skipped a beat (or five) when there was a knock at the door. Everyone jumped up and Charizard was the first to get to it and throw it open.

"Charizard! You're alive!" Master Hand cheered, gleefully. Behind him Crazy Hand floated a few feet back. He wasn't about to get caught in any potential crossfire.

Charizard was much, much less happy than the gauntlet before him. It seemed whatever he did, Master Hand would find a way to ruin it for him. And now, after firing him from Smash brothers, he had come all this way just to prevent Charizard from seeing his trainer again, moments before Red was expected to return?! Fire began to churn inside the great reptile. Never had he been so angry in all his life. He gave a loud and threating growl and prepared to torch the Hand once and for all.

Crazy muttered to himself from the front lawn "Yeah, _he _may be alive, but you won't be."

"Crazy Hand, shut up! Now Charizard…" Master Hand started nervously, "Please calm down, I just want to talk with you…"

Unfortunately for Master Hand, Charizard didn't want to talk. Wolf and Snake ran up and tried to pull their fiery friend away, but he knocked them back with his strong tail. Charizard bellowed and launched his mighty Fire Blast attack. Master Hand braced himself for the flaming grave to reach him…

"Water Gun, now!"

A powerful stream of water was shot at the Fire Blast, extinguishing it moments before impact. Everyone turned to see none other than the Pokémon Trainer himself, with his trusty Squirtle and Ivysaur next to him. Master Hand breathed a heavy sigh of relief and crumpled to the ground. Crazy hand floated up to join him, thinking they were making snow angels.

Charizard stood in the doorway, speechless. After all that he had been through the past three days, the presence of his trainer seemed impossible. It must be his eyes playing tricks on him. But it wasn't. It really was Red, in the flesh. Charizard began to cry again as he ran up to Red and the others.

Red, for one, hadn't been expecting to see his Charizard or the Hands at his house on Christmas eve. The clock inside struck midnight as his fire type Pokémon wrapped him in a big hug and licked his face. As Red pet his Pokémon's head, he turned to the Hands.

"Uh…excuse me, sir? What's going on here?"

Master Hand got up from the icy ground and sighed a deep sigh. This wasn't going to be fun to explain.

**Author's Note: I'm finally back, and boy am I glad to be writing again! Hooray! Charizard and Red are finally reunited, but what will happen now that they are? Above All Else is nearly complete, only one more chapter to go! Expect it up tomorrow, since that's the deadline for Smash King's Christmas Contest! Hope you all had a safe and merry Christmas!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special Thanks to Dapper Dee VI, PikaLoverNYA and bowsercrusher65 for your reviews! Time for the last chapter guys! Hope you enjoyed the story, and happy new year!**

Chapter 8: The Last Chapter

The tension in Red's living room was so thick, you could cut it with a Honedge.

The ex-fighters had sat down on the couches, while Master Hand floated before them, trying his best to calmly explain the past 3 days to Red. Crazy Hand and Snake were making more Christmas cookies in the kitchen. Everyone once in a while, Master Hand would get interrupted by Charizard, who would roar angrily, trying to explain it his way.

When Master Hand reached the end of his story, he and everyone else remained silent. Master Hand was holding his breath, waiting to hear what Red would have to say.

Red sat very still, with his hat over his eyes. For a few more minutes, he said nothing. He just sat there, stroking the shell of his now sleeping Squirtle. Ivysaur and Charizard lay on either side of their trainer, exchanging worried glances. Charizard was secretly hoping Red would try to shove Master Hand into a Pokéball.

After what seemed like hours, Red stood up. Lifting his hat, he took a deep breath, and began to speak. Everyone turned to listen. Even Crazy Hand and Snake came in from the kitchen, leaving their cookies to bake.

"Well. It's obvious that you both have had a very stressful past three days." He began. Charizard continued to glare daggers at Master Hand, who had averted his gaze.

Red continued. "I have to say, I'm rather disappointed in both of you." Charizard looked up, startled. He hadn't done anything wrong! Why was Red mad at him?

"Master Hand, while I respect your decision to relieve Squirtle, Ivysaur and myself from Smash Brothers, and I acknowledge the rules of the Smash Mansion, don't you think it's a little unfair to enforce these laws all 365 days of the year? I personally don't think that Charizard's request was at all unreasonable. And I haven't even mentioned that you've caused physical harm to my Pokémon _on purpose_!"

Master Hand had, quite literally, shrunk down in shame. It was very odd for everyone present to see their tough former boss acting so meek.

"Yes Red…I am also appalled at my own behaviour." Master Hand spoke, quietly.

Red simply gave a nod, then turned to his dragon Pokémon, who lowered his head in shame as well.

"Charizard…I know it's been rough, not having me and the others around this year. And while I appreciate how hard you tried to spend Christmas with us, you can't attack people when you don't get your way! If Master Hand said 'no,' than you need to respect his wishes. Understand?"

Charizard gave a small growl as he looked away.

The room once again became deathly silent. Roy shuffled awkwardly in his seat, and Wolf sneezed. A bit of smoke trickled into the room.

Red spoke up again, to break the silence. "So…do you two have anything to say to each other? I think we all need to put this whole ordeal behind us."

Master Hand and Charizard both looked at Red, then to each other. Master Hand took a deep breath…and promptly began to cough. Soon, Lucas and the Ice Climbers were coughing as well. Everyone looked at them in concern, wondering what was going on, until they too began to cough and wheeze.

Then the smoke alarm went off.

A huge blaze had formed in the kitchen, and was spreading quickly. Soon, it had reached the living room. Squirtle, who had woken up at the loud beeping of the smoke alarm, and the Ice Climbers tried to fight the fire with their water and ice powers, but it was futile. Once the Christmas tree caught fire, everyone was forced to evacuate.

…...

The group stood outside in the freezing cold, watching as Red's house was reduced very quickly to nothing more than ash and cinder. The fire department arrived too late to make any kind of difference. Red and a couple others had to talk out some details with the fire fighters and police, such as insurance. When it came to the matter of the cause of the blaze, Crazy Hand and Snake had tried unsuccessfully to sneak away. They were caught immediately by Master Hand, who chewed them out for leaving their cookies in the oven unattended.

The police gave a few suggestions as to where the group could spend the next few nights, but they were cut off by Master Hand.

"Not to worry officers…I have a place." Charizard looked up at Master Hand, stupefied. Crazy Hand gave his brother a knowing smirk. Everyone else was thoroughly confused.

With a snap of their fingers, the Hands teleported everyone away in a flash of bright light.

….

The Smash Mansion was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then Bowser Jr.'s alarm clock struck 5 am.

"IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"

Immediately, all the young smashers jumped right out of bed and rushed downstairs to see if Santa Clause was good to them this year. Some of the adults forced themselves up, to make sure that the kids didn't tear each other apart in the chaos. Peach, Mr. Game and Watch, Kirby, Captain Falcon (in his trademark "Falcon Lunch" apron) and the Waddle Dee's began to prepare breakfast. Even though the incident with Charizard still lingered in their minds, nobody was about to let that ruin the special holiday. Putting on brave faces, everyone came down the stairs to join the early risers. What they saw was a surprise like no other.

Right in the middle of the living room, in front of the giant, decorated conifer, was none other than Master Hand, Crazy Hand, Charizard and a handful of other retired fighters, sleeping soundly in a heap.

After a few seconds of shocked silence, the Villager ran right up to Charizard and tackled him in a hug. This woke up the fire type, who roared loudly in surprise, which in turn woke up the rest of the visitors, and the Hands.

Soon, smashers from both parties began to take notice of their old friends, and ran up to greet them. Ness and Lucas hugged for a solid minute, tears streaming down both of their faces. Marth and Roy greeted each other with a friendly handshake, and the Hero King introduced his old friend to Ike, Robin and Lucina. Pichu and Pikachu shared a warm reunion also: mocking his older brother, Pichu began to drum on his belly, too. Even Fox and Falco greeted Wolf, and vice versa.

Soon, Christmas was well underway, with gifts being exchanged and opened, a wonderful breakfast prepared, and the long-forgotten Christmas cheer had been restored in everybody.

Thankfully, Red had managed to rescue his presents for his Pokémon from the inferno. While Charizard watched Squirtle gleefully tear into his box, which contained a new pair of slick sunglasses, Master Hand floated up behind the lizard and cleared his throat.

For once, Charizard didn't want to tear out his bosses throat upon sight of him. Instead, he politely let Master hand speak, which he did cautiously.

"Um…Charizard…well, Merry Christmas…and I just wanted to say that…"

Most of the smashers stopped to listen to Master Hand. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings even pulled out video cameras.

Crazy Hand floated up behind his brother and gave him a pat on the back, encouraging him to continue.

"I wanted to…say that I'm sorry. F-For everything that has happened these past few days." He paused, taking note of Charizards expression: The beast looked at Master Hand with knowing eyes. "It would mean everything to me if you would accept my apology."

A pregnant pause filled the room. The Koopalings did a little celebration in the corner (they had managed to record Master Hand apologizing. This was worth more than gold!). Charizard stood up to look Master Hand in his fictional eye, then smile and gave a snort.

Master Hand also smiled, and gave Charizard a hug, which the fire type returned. A few of the smashers began to cheer. Finally, the war between the two was over.

Master Hand released his new friend and addressed the entire room, his usual confident, booming voice restored.

"And as my gift to all of you, all retired smashers may now visit the Smash mansion whenever they please, and Charizard, welcome back to Smash Brothers!"

Now, everyone was cheering and smiling. Wario screamed something about "Drinks for everybody!" then got slapped by Princess Peach. Charizard ran back to his Trainer, Squirtle and Ivysaur, and the four exchanged a big group hug.

Suddenly, Master hand gave a painful shout and crumpled to the ground. Doctor Mario and Crazy Hand were at his side instantly. A few smashers shouted out concerns, like "What happened?!" and "Is he alright!?"

Crazy Hand merely shrugged and said "His heart grew a few sizes. Nothing major." And floated back over to his presents.

Doctor Mario got a few of the bigger smashers to help carry their boss to the hospital wing, so that this major health complication could be treated immediately.

….

Greninja had just finished putting up the last of his decorations, a bunch of mistletoe, and leaped down from the ceiling. Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Samus walked right underneath the frog, and they collided with each other. Getting up, the bounty hunter took notice of the mistletoe above the two. Greninja covered his face with his hands, preparing to get a black eye for Christmas. However, Samus smiled at the water type Pokémon.

"Only if you put away the tongue."

Greninja looked at her in confusion, then quickly retracted his scarf into his mouth, blushing.

…...

Pikachu and Pichu were enjoying Christmas together, both of them drumming on their stomachs. However, unlike the happy-go-lucky Pichu, Pikachu had been pounding away for a few days nonstop now, and was about to pass out when Captain Falcon walked by.

"Whoa there, little drummer boy! You can stop now!" the F-Zero Racer smirked.

Thankful for the release, Pikachu fell backwards onto a pillow and sighed. Captain Falcon took of his gloves and gave them to the electric mouse.

"Give them back tomorrow, ok?" Pikachu nodded and took the gift graciously. Captain Falcon continued on his merry way, which just so happened to be in the direction of Lucina.

….

Pit and Dark Pit were, surprise, fighting again. This time, both of the angels wanted to give their present to Palutena at the same time.

"Out of the way, Pittoo! Lady Palutena is my goddess! I get to give her my gift first!"

"Nu-uh! I get to give mine to her first, Pitty-Pat!"

Palutena smiled and spoke up above the two feuding angels. "How about _I _give _you_ your presents first?"

Pit and Dark Pit stopped fighting and looked up at the Goddess, expectantly. In unison, they inquired.

"Is it flight?!"

Palutena stammered "Well…n-no, sorry Pits'…" the angels frowned. "But, I think you'll like it just as much! Game and Watch?"

The 2D fighter wheeled the grand piano over and began to play a very familiar tune. The smashers around them stopped what they were doing and began to sing and dance.

"_Consider Yourself, at home! Consider Yourself, one of the family!"_

The Pits' lit up considerably at the flash mob before them, and began to gush over how wonderful their production turned out.

…...

Charizard and the others had just finished eating breakfast and returned to the Christmas Tree, when Red pulled a small wrapped box out of his backpack and presented it to the fire/flying type Pokémon.

"Here you go, buddy. Merry Christmas!"

Charizard grinned and opened the present. Inside was a smooth, blue and gray stone. Sitting right next to it was a similar stone, although slightly smaller and multicolored. Both rocks had the same curved pattern inside. Both stones were attached on a collar.

Charizard looked at his trainer, not believing what he had just received.

Red grinned. "It's a Charizardite X and my Key Stone." He explained. "I made them into a brace for you, so you can mega evolve anytime, without needing me or a smash ball."

Charizard began to tear up again (he was used to it by now) and hugged his trainer. The Pokémon growled a message to his trainer.

"_I'll always need you."_

Red began to cry as well. Squirtle and Ivysaur ran up and joined them in the hug. Charizard's tail flame began to burn brighter. He smiled to himself. Because, to Charizard, Christmas meant family, above all else.

The End

**And it's done! I have to say, I never knew that writing could be such a thrill! I hope you all enjoyed my entry as much as I have. Keep on the lookout for more stories from me, cause I have another idea forming in my mind right now! Happy New Year, everybody! As your gift to me, you can leave a review! It's always appreciated!**


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